Chapter 488: Christmas

Vienna, wrapped in silver, once again celebrates its annual Christmas. The severe cold has not dissipated everyone's enthusiasm, and the festival atmosphere has flooded Vienna.
The store's window displays the beautiful Christmas gifts, and the Gothic fountain around the center of the square has set up a colorful game shed for the Christmas market.
Many artists on the street started performing, classical, pop, rock, rhythm blues, hip hop, jazz, dance, alternative, country, Latin, folk ...
The charm of the international metropolis is undoubtedly revealed. Here you can enjoy various European music, as well as different styles of dance and magic.
Franz still did not receive a good news from South Africa. It seems that this war cannot be ended before Christmas. No accident, all this was expected by Franz.
It is also a good thing to encounter a little setback, which can make people calm down. Over the years, Austria's expansion has gone too smoothly, and many people have already drifted away.
Had it not been for arrogance, it would not have called out to occupy Cape Town before Christmas. Failing now, just tighten the reins of the carriage in Austria.
The era of the great colonial expansion is over, and what is left is some dispensable scraps. The next step is to develop yourself and turn the loot into your own strength.
There are no examples of success in this respect. The performances of the colonial empires in the original time and space failed. Without being able to translate into its own strength, the World War broke out.
Then there is no more. In the World War, the power was greatly damaged, and the rise of new competitors made them lose their last chance.
The British Empire ’s federal plan and the French ’s provincial strategy were too late, and failed under the intervention of the United States and the Soviet Union.
Annoying issues left Franz's mind for a while, and Christmas still had to be. This day is World Peace Day, and no European country will do anything at this time.
The ongoing British-English war is also truce, and both parties can enjoy this special festival without worrying about the other party launching a surprise attack.
Franz's Christmas gifts have been distributed to the hands of every soldier. Although they are just some ordinary candy, everyone is very happy.
Roughly crafted Santas appeared in the barracks, full of cards. This can also be regarded as the benefit of compulsory education. Soldiers can write Christmas wishes by themselves.
The temporary church also opened on this day, and the priest in the army became busy.
Viscount Fickney sighed helplessly. The soldiers were celebrating the festival, but the officers were frowning.
The war is now, and the victory is still far away. The country has already given a final answer. If Cape Town cannot be captured within the deadline, then the truce will be over.
I dug the pit myself and filled it myself. I originally planned to end the war within half a year. Now that I have relaxed the time to one year, I still cannot end the war. Naturally, there is no need to continue.
If it wasn't for the late siege battles, they were all attacked with cannon fodder, and the morale of the army would have collapsed long ago.
Even so, the soldiers were war exhausted. Perhaps it is the pride of self-esteem or the relationship between cultural traditions that these emotions have not been expressed.
But the officers were aware of it. Every day watching the scene of flesh and blood flying, without a mental breakdown, they are considered strong inside.
At this time, the officers can only serve as doctors of the heart, soothing everyone's uneasy emotions. Christmas is a good preparation. Relaxing the tight nerves is still very good for relieving mental stress.
Compared to the lost Viscount Fickney, Governor Delphi in the city is really living like a good year. After successive failures, the morale of the army in Cape Town fell to the bottom.
Military supplies can be guaranteed, and a large number of war refugees will be miserable. After losing their livelihoods, they simply cannot afford the high food prices and can only rely on government relief.
The Cape Town colonial government was also not rich, and after being struck down by the bureaucrats, the distribution of supplies became a problem. Even at Christmas, there was just an extra 300 grams of fish.
This is fishermen fishing from the sea and is now the main meat food in Cape Town. The beef and mutton transported far across the ocean are all sky-high prices, and ordinary people simply can't afford it.
The "Bur Republic Army" did not stop the refugees from entering the city, and even intended to lead the surrounding British to gather in Cape Town. Now from Cape Town to Cape of Good Hope, there are now refugees everywhere.
If the army is added, the total population of this small, slap-sized place has exceeded 400,000. This number would have been even greater if Governor Delphi had not decisively ordered the expulsion of blacks and mestizos.
More people are not necessarily powerful, but more people must be expensive. To feed so many people, it takes at least 1,500 tons of daily supplies.
In addition to various strategic materials, the Cape Town Colony needs to transport at least 3,000 tons of materials from the outside world every day to meet basic needs.
The actual demand is much greater than this. The building materials for building fortifications are an astronomical figure.
If the war continues, Cape Town will become the most densely fortified and fortified city in the world.
Even more tragic is the lack of water in Cape Town, which will be the world ’s most water-poor city in future generations, and it is no exception now.
The external water supply was cut off early by the enemy, and they could only find a way between Cape Town and Cape of Good Hope.
The largest source of fresh water resources is rain in the sky. Groundwater cannot be expected at all, otherwise why desalination?
There is no shortage of water when there is nothing. Now the British can only buy water from the Portuguese. If one does not send thousands of tons of water over, the crisis will erupt immediately.
In order to save water, the fortifications are now built with seawater. The aftereffects of the Governor Delphi can no longer take care of it, as long as it can be used now.
It can be said that the current Cape Town lacks everything except the population. Water, food, fuel, building materials ... none of them can be self-sufficient.
Even Britannia struggles to supply so many supplies.
In order to reduce the pressure on supplies, every time a ship carrying supplies comes over, a ship of refugees is taken away.
With a declining population, what to do about the future development of Cape Town can no longer care so much.
By Christmas Eve, the local population had successfully dropped by 120,000, which eased the pressure on feeding. Otherwise, even this fish may not be able to be taken out.
This is still summer, the rain is relatively abundant, and no fuel is needed for heating. If winter comes, this material pressure will be even greater.
Considering the impact of the monsoon, it is not uncommon to see a dozen-meter-high killing waves in winter. In July, August, and September of each year, the Cape of Good Hope route is almost navigable.
Even now, the British have paid a lot of money to transport supplies. Almost two percent of the ships are halfway through.
There is no way. The wind resistance of wooden boats in the sailing era is too weak. Various natural disasters are not easy to withstand, and sometimes human accidents occur.
In the recent period, the Royal Navy has repeatedly attacked the pirates, and there are still pirates with short eyes going up.
Sometimes Governor Delphi wanted to pry open the pirate's head to see what was inside. Why didn't he even know in advance that the ship carrying fresh water and stone had been robbed.
In a high position, he did not know the plight of the pirates. It was so easy to gather information. Except for individual pirate groups, most pirates robbed merchants when they encountered them.
Since learning that the next batch of reinforcements is the Indian Colonial Army, Governor Delphi is ready to go home to take shelter. As for the counter-offensive Boer to atone for his sins, he is not so ambitious.
Like most Britons, Governor Delphi also despised the Indian Colonial Army. In his eyes, the combat effectiveness of this unit was about the same as the black cannon fodder outside.
The only value is the use of cannon fodder for cannon fodder, which can reduce the casualties of young men. The troops in the Cape Town area need to be rehabilitated, and after this, the army is abolished.
Specific reference can be made to the Near East War, when the British army performed well. However, because the rear was not replenished in time and no effective restorative restoration was carried out, most of the British soldiers who participated in the battle after the war ended were abolished.
This "abandonment" is not physical, but mentally abolished. Mainly manifested as war exhaustion, fear of war, and anti-war, especially the British soldiers mixed with the Italians, brought back a lot of bad things.
The failure of the subsequent Persian War, the delay in suppressing the Indian rebellion, and the difficulty of expeditions in Ethiopia are proof of the decline in the British combat effectiveness.
Not to mention the war in South Africa, Governor Delphi was embarrassed to speak out.
On the one hand, the colonial army's pampering department is superior, and even the most basic training cannot be guaranteed; on the other hand, the main force's combat effectiveness has decreased, and many tactics have stayed in the era of rifle guns.
Neither the colonial army nor the regular army can fight, so it is not surprising that the battlefield failed.
Otherwise, there will be no joke that hundreds of thousands of people have besieged the Boer Republic and won three years later.
The more you know, the greater the pressure on Governor Delphi. On the surface, the interior of the British Empire has begun to decay.
In this state, can Britain meet the challenges of France and Austria? Deep inside, Delphi had already cast doubt.
The failure of this war was a heavy blow to his body and mind, and he no longer had the pride of the past.
The night was late, and the laughter outside was over. Governor Delphi was lost in thought, his thoughts ran farther and farther.
From anxiety at war in Cape Town to worries about his own future, he worries about Britain's future.
This Christmas Eve, Delphi was sleepless all night.
...
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